Last year, around about this time, I began having difficulty with my stamina. After numerous tests, it became obvious I was struggling with Bradycardia (slow heart rhythm). I wore a Holter monitor for a week and on one night my heart rate dropped to 26 bpm. I could barely walk from the bedroom to the kitchen without getting winded, tired, and feeling a strong urge to just sit or lay down.
After several conversations with a cardiologist (who is now MY cardiologist) I decided the best path forward was to have a pacemaker implanted in my chest. On March 8 of last year, the surgery was performed and the difference was striking. However, along with the auto-immune skin condition I’ve been dealing with for over two years, I found it difficult to come anywhere close to returning to a relatively normal life. I still tired fairly easily and, to make things worse, in the past four or five months I’ve been experiencing arthritic like conditions in my ankles, knees, elbows, wrists, and (worst of all) fingers. Try opening a bottle or tying your shoes when both your index and middle fingers are excruciatingly painful when any pressure is applied.
Finally, things are beginning to look up, though I still have to deal with a 90-day regimen of a drug I will be starting soon, which I hope will help relieve the joint stiffness and pain. Tonight I went to the gym for the first time in I can’t actually remember. I worked my biceps, triceps, and a teeny bit of pecs. I then did a 15 minute hydro-massage. It felt really good. Looking forward to building my strength and stamina before my 77th birthday this June.
This is what the Holter monitor I wore looks like. This is NOT what I look like and, given my age and disposition, likely never will look like, but I wore one like this for a full week. Showering was fun!
Be Good to Your Teeth and They’ll Never be False to You.
~ Soupy Sales
Are you aware of just how important your dental health is to your overall health? The two are far more closely related than you may realize. It’s been almost 10 years since my mother’s death, but her oral health played a major role in what brought her life to a close. She had been admitted to the hospital and was awaiting a triple bypass. Coronary bypass surgery has become pretty routine nowadays and the operation she was facing wasn’t all that dangerous, although at her age (81) recovery would have been somewhat lengthy.
However, the real problem was her teeth. The surgeons would not operate before she had eleven teeth pulled. My mother was not one who faced pain all that stoically and she had neglected her oral health. This was, of course, exacerbated by an inability to afford good, useful dental insurance. She was on Medicare, through Kaiser Permanente, and there is no dental coverage offered as part of the overall plan. The reason they wanted to pull her teeth is the very real danger of Endocarditis, an infection of the inner lining of your heart (endocardium). According to the Mayo Clinic, “Endocarditis typically occurs when bacteria or other germs from another part of your body, such as your mouth, spread through your bloodstream and attach to damaged areas in your heart.”
I will never forget the look on her face when she told me about their plans. She made an expression I had come to recognize over the years that said “I don’t like it, but I have no control so I’m giving up.” Give up is what she did. Within two days she lost consciousness and quickly died. I can still see her expression and it breaks my heart.
Yesterday, I created a petition at “We the People“, a part of Whitehouse.gov. As someone who is currently on Medicare and who has a difficult time affording a good dental plan, and as someone who recognizes the importance of good dental health to overall health (not to mention someone who does need a little work) I am appalled that Medicare doesn’t cover — at the very least — routine examinations and bi-annual cleaning. I know of no studies, but I have a feeling offering such coverage might actually bring down the overall cost of Medicare.
I know there are some issues with whether or not this kind of thing works, or if the Obama administration is either taking it seriously or paying much attention at all. However, I’m bound and determined to do what I can to bring attention to this problem. It only takes a moment of your time to sign and I think it’s worth raising awareness.
Below is the text of the petition. Please take a moment and sign it. Here’s the link. If you have a moment, you can also share through the Facebook and Twitter buttons just below it. Surely you have family who may benefit from this expansion of coverage and, whether you like it or not, you’re going to get old yourself. Will you be able to afford a dental plan? In the long run, I’m in favor of universal health care. However, in the meantime, let’s ensure our older population has the means to remain as healthy as possible. Maybe we’ll all die of less expensive diseases. 😉
“Recognizing the role oral health plays in the overall health of our citizens, as pointed out by such organizations as The Mayo Clinic, the Office of Disease Prevention and Health promotion, and the Surgeon General’s Report on Oral Health in America, we believe it is prudent and economically imperative to provide coverage for Dental Services to all recipients of Medicare. Many of those who have reached the age of eligibility are healthy and desirous of continuing to contribute to our country’s well-being. Ensuring their dental health is important to ensuring their overall health as well. Many people who have reached the age of eligibility for Medicare are unable to afford separate coverage for dental health. We ask the administration to work toward achieving this goal.”
Thanks from the bottom of my heart . . . and my mouth.
Systems Savvy 